the Ekahi Center for Yoga and Mindfulness. You can also find this presentation narrated by me at This is my presentation of a meditation instruction that has been described in suttas and sutras, with some debate about what certain parts of it mean. I have seen several different translations of this practice, and my practice of it has changed over the years and continues to evolve, as does my understanding of its implications. This is by no means meant to be an authoritative presentation of the practice (in fact, to split the difference on one debate, I am including both interpretations instead of picking one, and I am adding an instruction from a completely different sutta, too). Nonetheless, there is much wisdom in these teachings, and look forward to sharing that wisdom with participants at my mindfulness class at https://soundcloud.com/claymcleod1969/full-awareness-of-breathing.
As you breathe in, notice the quality and nature of that in-breath. As you breathe out, notice the quality and nature of that out-breath. Is it long, short, smooth, ragged, shallow, deep, light, heavy, or something else? Be curious about your breath. Investigate your breath. Take interest in it. If you breathe in a long breath, notice that it is long. If you breathe out a long breathe, notice that it is long. If you breathe in a short breath, notice that it is short. If you breathe out a short breath, notice that it is short. Notice your entire in-breath, from the beginning, through the middle, all the way to the end. Notice your out-breath, from the beginning, through the middle, all the way to the end. Calm your in-breath, from the beginning, through the middle, all the way to the end. Calm your out-breath, from the beginning, through the middle, all the way to the end.
As you breathe in, notice your whole body. As you breathe out, notice your whole body. As you breathe in, calm your whole body. As you breathe out, calm your whole body. As you breathe in, generate a feeling of joy. As you breathe out, generate a feeling of joy. As you breathe in, cultivate a feeling of happiness; as you breathe out, cultivate a feeling of happiness.
As you breathe in, notice your feelings and intentions. As you breathe out, notice your feelings and intentions. Do you feel pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral? As you breathe in, calm your feelings and intentions. As you breathe out, calm your feelings and intentions. Can you feel unpleasantness without aversion? Can you experience pleasantness without clinging? Can you experience a neutral feeling without craving something better?
As you breathe in, notice your mind. As you breathe out, notice your mind. Is it sleepy, agitated, distracted, present, clear, doubtful, or is it some other way? Don’t judge your mind; observe it. Bring your attention back to your breath. As you breathe in, make your mind happy. As you breathe out, make your mind happy. As you breathe in, concentrate your mind on your breath in one location. As you breathe out, concentrate your mind on your breath in that same location. As you breathe in, liberate your mind from thinking, and notice the actual sensation of breathing. As you breathe out, liberate your mind.
As you breathe in, contemplate the impermanence of all things. As you breathe out, contemplate the impermanence of all things. Each breath has an end. Each thought has an end. All things that arise fade away. You notice this when sitting mindfully. As you breathe in, contemplate the end of desire; as you breathe out, contemplate the end of desire. Desire, like all things, is impermanent. The very root cause of the unsatisfactoriness of life - of dukkha - is impermanent.
As you breathe in, notice the no-birth, no-death nature of all phenomena. As you breathe out, notice the no-birth, no-death nature of all phenomena. As one thing passes away, another arises in its place. The cloud doesn’t last forever, but as it passes away, it gives rise to rain; it transforms into rain. There is no true death, only transformation. As you breathe in, contemplate letting go. As you breathe out, contemplate letting go. As Ajahn Chah said, “If you let go a little, you will get a little relief; if you let go a lot, you will get a lot of relief; if you let go completely, you will get complete relief.” Relax into the no-birth, no-death nature of existence, and let go of all your worries and anxieties.
To help with the process of letting go, it is helpful to contemplate the four elements that people believed all objects were composed of at the time of the historical Buddha: earth, water, air, and fire.
Notice the parts of your body that are earth-like and solid: your bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Contemplate how they are not permanently part of your body. You eat solid food. Your skin sheds, and you excrete solid waste. All the cells in your body go through a process of arising and passing away over time. The earth element flows through you. When you think of the earth element, you should think, “This is not I, not me, and not mine.” When the earth element is outside your body, it is open to all that lands on it, whether pleasant or unpleasant. It doesn’t judge; it accepts whatever lands on it. It doesn’t cling to pleasant things or feel averse to unpleasant things. Cultivate that attitude of openness and acceptance and letting go in the components of your body that are made of earth.
Notice the parts of your body that are water-like and liquid: your blood and all the fluids in your body. Your body is about 60% water. Contemplate how the liquids in your body are not permanently part of your body. You drink. You sweat and urinate. The water element flows through you. When you think of the water element, you should think, “This is not I, not me, and not mine.” When the water element is outside your body, it is open to all that lands in it, whether pleasant or unpleasant. It doesn’t judge; it accepts whatever flows through it. It doesn’t cling to pleasant things or feel averse to unpleasant things. Cultivate that attitude of openness and acceptance and letting go in the components of your body that are made of water.
Notice the air that is in your body. All of your cells need oxygen and produce carbon dioxide waste. Your blood is constantly transporting these components of air throughout your body, and they enter and exit all of your cells. Contemplate how they are not permanently part of your body. You breathe in; you breathe out. The air element flows through you. When you think of the air element, you should think, “This is not I, not me, and not mine.” When the air element is outside your body, it is open to all scents, odours, and smells, whether pleasant or unpleasant. It doesn’t judge; it accepts whatever flows through it. It doesn’t cling to pleasant things or feel averse to unpleasant things. Cultivate that attitude of openness and acceptance and letting go in the components of your body that are made of air.
Notice the processes in your body that are fire-like and warm: your body heat and the process of metabolism. Contemplate how your body heat and energy produced by the furnace of each cell are not permanently part of your body. You get energy to burn in each cell from the food you eat and liquids you drink. Your body radiates heat into the environment, and you spend your energy as you move and as your bodily processes continue throughout the day. The fire element flows through you. When you think of the fire element, you should think, “This is not I, not me, and not mine.” When the fire element is outside your body, it burns everything that it touches, whether pleasant or unpleasant. It doesn’t judge; it consumes everything it touches. It doesn’t cling to pleasant things or feel averse to unpleasant things. Cultivate that attitude of openness and acceptance and letting go in the aspects of your body that are like fire.
Be like earth, water, air, and fire, as you are composed of these elements. Accept all that arises with openness and tranquility. Let go of all that fades away with equanimity.
As you breathe in, notice the quality and nature of that in-breath. As you breathe out, notice the quality and nature of that out-breath. Is it long, short, smooth, ragged, shallow, deep, light, heavy, or something else? Be curious about your breath. Investigate your breath. Take interest in it. If you breathe in a long breath, notice that it is long. If you breathe out a long breathe, notice that it is long. If you breathe in a short breath, notice that it is short. If you breathe out a short breath, notice that it is short. Notice your entire in-breath, from the beginning, through the middle, all the way to the end. Notice your out-breath, from the beginning, through the middle, all the way to the end. Calm your in-breath, from the beginning, through the middle, all the way to the end. Calm your out-breath, from the beginning, through the middle, all the way to the end.
As you breathe in, notice your whole body. As you breathe out, notice your whole body. As you breathe in, calm your whole body. As you breathe out, calm your whole body. As you breathe in, generate a feeling of joy. As you breathe out, generate a feeling of joy. As you breathe in, cultivate a feeling of happiness; as you breathe out, cultivate a feeling of happiness.
As you breathe in, notice your feelings and intentions. As you breathe out, notice your feelings and intentions. Do you feel pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral? As you breathe in, calm your feelings and intentions. As you breathe out, calm your feelings and intentions. Can you feel unpleasantness without aversion? Can you experience pleasantness without clinging? Can you experience a neutral feeling without craving something better?
As you breathe in, notice your mind. As you breathe out, notice your mind. Is it sleepy, agitated, distracted, present, clear, doubtful, or is it some other way? Don’t judge your mind; observe it. Bring your attention back to your breath. As you breathe in, make your mind happy. As you breathe out, make your mind happy. As you breathe in, concentrate your mind on your breath in one location. As you breathe out, concentrate your mind on your breath in that same location. As you breathe in, liberate your mind from thinking, and notice the actual sensation of breathing. As you breathe out, liberate your mind.
As you breathe in, contemplate the impermanence of all things. As you breathe out, contemplate the impermanence of all things. Each breath has an end. Each thought has an end. All things that arise fade away. You notice this when sitting mindfully. As you breathe in, contemplate the end of desire; as you breathe out, contemplate the end of desire. Desire, like all things, is impermanent. The very root cause of the unsatisfactoriness of life - of dukkha - is impermanent.
As you breathe in, notice the no-birth, no-death nature of all phenomena. As you breathe out, notice the no-birth, no-death nature of all phenomena. As one thing passes away, another arises in its place. The cloud doesn’t last forever, but as it passes away, it gives rise to rain; it transforms into rain. There is no true death, only transformation. As you breathe in, contemplate letting go. As you breathe out, contemplate letting go. As Ajahn Chah said, “If you let go a little, you will get a little relief; if you let go a lot, you will get a lot of relief; if you let go completely, you will get complete relief.” Relax into the no-birth, no-death nature of existence, and let go of all your worries and anxieties.
To help with the process of letting go, it is helpful to contemplate the four elements that people believed all objects were composed of at the time of the historical Buddha: earth, water, air, and fire.
Notice the parts of your body that are earth-like and solid: your bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Contemplate how they are not permanently part of your body. You eat solid food. Your skin sheds, and you excrete solid waste. All the cells in your body go through a process of arising and passing away over time. The earth element flows through you. When you think of the earth element, you should think, “This is not I, not me, and not mine.” When the earth element is outside your body, it is open to all that lands on it, whether pleasant or unpleasant. It doesn’t judge; it accepts whatever lands on it. It doesn’t cling to pleasant things or feel averse to unpleasant things. Cultivate that attitude of openness and acceptance and letting go in the components of your body that are made of earth.
Notice the parts of your body that are water-like and liquid: your blood and all the fluids in your body. Your body is about 60% water. Contemplate how the liquids in your body are not permanently part of your body. You drink. You sweat and urinate. The water element flows through you. When you think of the water element, you should think, “This is not I, not me, and not mine.” When the water element is outside your body, it is open to all that lands in it, whether pleasant or unpleasant. It doesn’t judge; it accepts whatever flows through it. It doesn’t cling to pleasant things or feel averse to unpleasant things. Cultivate that attitude of openness and acceptance and letting go in the components of your body that are made of water.
Notice the air that is in your body. All of your cells need oxygen and produce carbon dioxide waste. Your blood is constantly transporting these components of air throughout your body, and they enter and exit all of your cells. Contemplate how they are not permanently part of your body. You breathe in; you breathe out. The air element flows through you. When you think of the air element, you should think, “This is not I, not me, and not mine.” When the air element is outside your body, it is open to all scents, odours, and smells, whether pleasant or unpleasant. It doesn’t judge; it accepts whatever flows through it. It doesn’t cling to pleasant things or feel averse to unpleasant things. Cultivate that attitude of openness and acceptance and letting go in the components of your body that are made of air.
Notice the processes in your body that are fire-like and warm: your body heat and the process of metabolism. Contemplate how your body heat and energy produced by the furnace of each cell are not permanently part of your body. You get energy to burn in each cell from the food you eat and liquids you drink. Your body radiates heat into the environment, and you spend your energy as you move and as your bodily processes continue throughout the day. The fire element flows through you. When you think of the fire element, you should think, “This is not I, not me, and not mine.” When the fire element is outside your body, it burns everything that it touches, whether pleasant or unpleasant. It doesn’t judge; it consumes everything it touches. It doesn’t cling to pleasant things or feel averse to unpleasant things. Cultivate that attitude of openness and acceptance and letting go in the aspects of your body that are like fire.
Be like earth, water, air, and fire, as you are composed of these elements. Accept all that arises with openness and tranquility. Let go of all that fades away with equanimity.